John Esh
From Rudy's Barbershop
212 NW 13th

Even people who aren't big readers will grab something to peruse while they're getting their hair cut. John seems like a big reader, though, so take heed to his picks:

- Pop. 1280 (Jim Thompson): "He was one of the noir novelists. It's the only one of his books I've read where the protagonist doesn't end up totally fucked or dead."

- Goldfinger (Ian Fleming): "Classic James Bond. So wrong and un-PC that it's right."

- Le Grand Meaulnes (Alain-Fournier): "A story about lost love and the consequences of finding it again. It's the only novel he ever wrote, and he died in the trenches in 1914."

- Q Magazine: "I love how British magazines will do an interview with an artist, and then totally bash them in the CD review. It's not pandering, like most American magazines."

- Zoetrope: "It's the literary magazine that Francis Ford Coppola puts out. A great read when your copy of McSweeney's or The Believer becomes tired."

Parnel Ley
From Sammy's Flowers
2120 NW Glisan

A flower exists to fit any occasion, from totally forgetting your two-year anniversary to saying "Sorry I hit your dog with my car"--so why not show your feelings with flowers? Parnel from Sammy's gives us her recommendations on a flower to sayÉ

- Thank you for finally agreeing to go on a date with me: "Most people would say daisies, but I'd say Calendula."

- I'm sorry for making out with that really dumb girl when I was drunk: "I'd go with three Oriental lilies."

- I just want to be friends. Or, sorry I gave you scabies, but I still just want to be friends: "Scabiosa"

- Death: "The most obvious is Calla Lily, something less obvious is Casablanca."

- Congratulations on the new job... or those new breast implants: "Yellow Gerber Daisies."